"Ya se fue!  Ya se fue! O-zo-mat-li!"

That's the chant the Los-Angeles-based, Grammy-winning band Ozomatli delivers at the end of each show as they leave the stage, winding their way through the crowd in what seems to be an impromptu conga line, joined by the crowd as they play drums and lead spirited chants outside the venue.  Ozomatli puts on one of the best stage shows you'll ever see, and their show last night at the State Theatre in Falls Church, VA was no exception. 

The crowd was incredibly diverse.  Young high-school-aged girls mingled with very senior citizens, members of all races appeared in significant numbers, and the crowd's gender split seemed even.  Maybe that's because Ozo offers possibly the most diverse musical sound one can find: an amalgam of salsa, African high life, funk and hip-hop including rappers, bilingual singers, horns players and a DJ (as well as the typical guitar/bass/drums ensemble. 

As for the vibe, let's put it this way: if you're not on your feet and dancing at an Ozo show, you might be dead.  Besides, when your band is named after an Aztec god, you'd better deliver the goods.  Despite a painful muscle strain on my right torso from sleeping in a horribly awkward position the night before, the music was so infectious that I couldn't help myself towards the end.  They did a lot of theri earliest material, which in my opinion is their best material.

As if the original band itself didn't bring enough to the table, I noticed a new guy who looked like he might have been a rapper playing a lot of tambourine.  I thought, "Is that another rapper?  Do they really need two?"  Later on, he was introduced as the newest member of the Ozo family. His name?  Tré(vant) Hardson of The Pharcyde!  The most talented (to my ears) member of that now-defunct L.A. alternative hip-hop group performed "Passing Me By" accompanied by live instrumentation.  I actually went to see Tré live after he left The Pharcyde back in 2001 at Storyville, a former San Francisco club that used to focus on hip-hop and jazz.  Even though his verses were recycled from Pharcyde songs (I'm guessing he is still very new), it was a totally unexpected thrill to see him. 

This feeling was compounded when, during the end-of-show conga line, I shouted, "What's up, Tré?" as he walked past.  He turned, made eye contact and smiled.  I felt good not because of any hero-worship or brush with fame.  Rather, I felt good because I had made him feel good -- I might have been one of the few audience members who fully understood who he was.  I'm almost certain that a good time was had by all.  I got very sad after the show, but that's the kind of thing I've come to expect these days.   

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay





I really didn't expect much for Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay.  After all, it's unlikely that a concept that reveled in the stoner-movie paradigm could possibly capture lightning in a bottle twice...could it?  And I loved the first movie so much that it seemed unlikely that the second one would give me any similar level of enjoyment of the first one. 

As it turns out, I was right and wrong.  No, "Harold and Kumar 2" wasn't nearly as funny as the first one, mainly because we had an idea of what to expect.  The element of surprise was gone.  On top of it, they were delving into territory (The War On Terror) that is certainly ripe for satire, but still a current, sensitive event.  In spite of these potential pitfalls, the movie had its moments.  Several of them, actually -- and many of them had me laughing out loud even after a particular scene was over. 

The movie continues to use race as a hot-button topic, and employs Rob Corddry (of The Daily Show fame) as a Homeland Security provocateur with hilarious results.  Neil Patrick Harris returns as a warped version of himself, and the movie does insert blatant references to please fans of the first installment. 

Oddly enough, though, the film stands on its own: it isn't necessary to have seen the first H&K movie to enjoy this one (though it helps).  The biggest problem is the way the plot falls apart at the end; it seemed almost as though the scriptwriters created the funny mess and had no idea how to tie things together and end it, so they took the easy way out. 

That said, H&K2 is still worth watching, hnece thhe 3 ¹/₂ reels rating.  You may not want to pay to see it on the big screen, but if you liked the first one -- or even the idea of the first one -- you'll want to catch it at some point.

My new team in DC Kickball is Big Kids.  We are currently 3-1.  Interestingly, that one loss came when I was in California (coincidence?  I think not!); we are 3-0 with me in the lineup.   We beat Kiss of the Badger 2-1 and defeated Sloppy Seconds 2-0.  Last night, we crossed back over to Wednesday night and beat Here For The Beer 5-3. 

I don't think my new team has figured out how to use me yet.  In spite of the fact that I excel at kicking grounders towards third for base hits, they have had me kick third twice; I don't excel when runners are on first and second, because then I have to kick away from third.  Also, I used to play outfield every game, yet I've played third base 2 out of 3 games.  I don't play the bases very well -- there's too much strategy and decision-making involved.  Placing me in the outfield takes advantage of my running, catching and throwing ability.  Most of that is negated if I'm playing in the infield. 

There are many cool things about being a Big Kid.  First of all, it's JP's former team -- he is a patriarch of adult kickball, and lobbied for me to join Big Kids once I decided to leave Cobra Kai.  Also, Big Kids are social, friendly and competitive without being hated.  That's pretty hard to pull off -- and it's refreshing after being on a team last fall that was about as well-liked as the New England Patriots.  The sad thing is that if others took the time to get to know Cobra Kai, they would probably like them.  It's just that some people on the team are just a bit too aggressive and argumentative on the field for most people's tastes.

I saw several of my old teammates last night.  As I kicked my typical grounder for a single, a familiar voice called out "What's up, traitor?" as I crossed first base.  It was Katie, first baseman and co-captain of Cobra Kai.  It was actually really good to see those guys.  In spite of only having about 7 returning players, they got blessed with a lot of good new male players (including Katie's husband, a longtime kickball vet who is an amazing pitcher).  As a result, they have gone right back to dominating the opposition.  If they end up winning it all this season, Bill Simmons might have to change "The Ewing Theory" to "The jcabana Theory."  Okay...maybe not. 

The Big Kids also pulled off the rare feat of beating Here For The Beer at flip-cup as well as on the field.  For the first time since Week 1, we had a great showing at the bar.  Hopefully this will continue, because I get to know my teammates a lot better at the bar than I do during the games.

I went to see Del The Funkee Homosapien on Easter evening, if I didn't write about it already.  His set was about 40 minutes, tops -- if there hadn't been 3 opening acts, I would have felt robbed.  Chip-Fu (formerly of the Fu-Schnickens) totally upstaged Del during his opening set, especially when he finished by rapping using the same cadence and pace as the opera Figaro.  This was indeed the good Fu-Schnicken (not either of those other two wack niggas he used to rhyme with). 

I still enjoyed Del's material, though, and his encore was rhyming a different verse from the one he originally rapped over the Gorillaz "Clint Eastwood."  Not sure why he changed the lyrics from the recorded version...maybe it's a copyright issue with Dan The Automator, since Del wasn't invited back for the second Gorillaz album.

I also saw Chris Rock last night.  He was unbelievable.  This show was even better than the show I saw 12 years ago at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  He performed for at least 1 ¹/₂ hours, and he left no stone unturned.  I had never heard him so raunchy or offensive.  It was a virtuoso performance -- and I now know why he called the show "No Apologies."   Wow. 

In the coming weeks, I am seeing Atmosphere next week, Ozomatli on May 7, and Radiohead on May 11.  I'm extremely fired up about both Ozo and Radiohead, and I deliberately skipped seeing the Raconteurs simply because I am going to too many damn shows and I had to draw the line somewhere.  I saw The White Stripes last year, and I've heard they are better live than Raconteurs anyway.  Naturally, I'll write up the future shows eventually.

At V. Sattui I tried their zinfandel, cabernet and port for the first time.  In total, I probably tasted about 12 wines at V.Sattui alone.  I got my tasting money back because I ended up buying 5 bottles of wine: a zin, a port, a madeira, a dry riesling, and two bottles of Gamay Rouge.  I gave away one bottle of Rouge, the port and the zinfandel, and kept the madeira (of course), the riesling, and the other bottle of rouge.  I really wanted to keep the zin, since i discovered it for the first time on this trip...but I felt strongly that Noah and Maya would like it, so I gave it to them instead.  I hope they enjoyed it.

And if I ever use the abbreviation 'zin' in spoken conversation, you have permission to punch me.

How could I go to San Francisco, visit Seattle for the first time, and not name the entry after a Pearl Jam song?  Answer: I can't. 

I took my first long vacation since July of 2006 for the past 10 days.  Going back to San Francisco was a joy that is hard for me to put into words.  Though I was technically there for a conference, I extended my trip into a vacation and then tacked on a brief visit to Seattle to see Noah and Maya.   I didn't realize how badly I needed a vacation until I was on the plane -- I slept for the entire trip, and slept a lot more once I arrived at my host's house.

The first thing I did was get my rental car; the second thing I did was visit the nearest In-N-Out burger.  If you haven't had In-N-Out before, you're missing out; it's the best fast-food burger in existence, and they use free-range organic beef.  It can't really be compared to Five Guys or other places like that, because ultimately it's cheaper and less about size than about quality. 

I went wine tasting in Napa Valley on my first full day, going straight to my favorite winery.   It was pretty much as I remembered, only now they charged for both tastings instead of just for the premium tastings.  However, I tried (and enjoyed) some wines I'd never had before.  The next day, I hung out in the city and visited my old neighborhood, ate at our old taquería, and walked the Sutro Baths at Ocean Beach as I had when I lived there in 2000 and 2001.   At the top of Twin Peaks, I took some very cool pictures.

The SIOP annual conference began on Thursday, but in all honesty the conference was not my main concern.  Having identified the need to kick back, I was determined to make the most of it.  I did attend several Thursday sessions, but most of them were not very engaging.  This would be a pattern for me throughout the conference -- not too many of the sessions grabbed me with their subject matter.   The best part was catching up with current and former students from my grad school program, as well as my department head.  And of course meeting new people and networking. 

On Friday night, my school hosted a reception for current and former I/O Psychology grad students.  Afterwards, we realized that Kenexa (you can look them up) was throwing a massive party in a rented out section of the hotel.  Turns out the party was open to all conference attendees...and had an open beer and wine bar.  There was a fog machine, a large dance floor, a funk cover band and a lot of partying I/O Psychologists.  Who knew we could party like that?

The next night I hung out with a former DC roommate who is now in med school at Berkeley.  Early the next morning, I had to try to make a flight to Seattle.  That didn't work out so well, but I made it there a couple of hours later anyway.  It was good to see that Noah and Maya had become comfortable Seattleites -- and had acquired a stunningly beautiful house to boot.  The inside was so amazing that I can't really remember what the outside looks like. 

Seattle is so lush and green on account of all the rain that it was vividly clear why they call it the Emerald City.  It's also a very laid-back place, with lots of friendly, smiling faces in spite of the sunlessness that dominates their weather patterns from November through April.  Seattle doesn't get the most rain, but it has more overcast days and less sunshine in winter on account of its extreme northwest location.  During the winter, if you're a working person it is quite easy to miss a sun that doesn't rise until well after many arrive at work and sets well before 5 p.m.  However, the bonuses include white-capped mountains in full view of the city, amazing views, great temperatures and of course terrific food (especially seafood).  Though I didn't have time to see them, the area also had game parks teeming with wildlife including bears, moose and more.  I'm definitely going back for a longer trip at some point.

Ultimately, I learned that everything I loved about San Francisco still holds true for me today.  The area speaks to me in very profound ways.  I've never been more comfortable living anywhere else than I was there -- never felt more at ease in my own skin.  It's still pretty much everything it always was when I lived there, and I would definitely move back without hesitation. 

But not yet.  I have plenty of work to do here first.